If saber rattling turns into pushing and
shoving on the political and military front,
there will be a very large need for our
medical equipment.
U.S. plans naval buildup in Gulf
CENTCOM plans to use 'gunboat diplomacy,' officials tell NBC News
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Central Command is aggressively planning a naval buildup in the Persian Gulf, including the addition of a second aircraft carrier, in response to a series of aggressive actions by Iran, U.S. military officials told NBC News on Tuesday.
The officials pointed to Iran's interference in Iraq — including its support for Shiite militants and shipments of improvised explosive devices into the country — recent military naval exercises in the Gulf, and its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
The attempt at "gunboat diplomacy" is in its final planning stages. Although it has not been approved yet, it appears likely the increase in U.S. warships into the Gulf could come as early as January, the officials said.
Of course, nobody knows how this is going to play out, but if it unfolds the way it could… with a beefing up of U.S. naval forces in the Gulf triggering a real (or imagined) attack on U.S. forces, then oil is going way over $100… and it is going to stay there. And gold will almost certainly leapfrog near-term expectations, quickly topping $1,000.
Forces of Islam are trying to suck the U.S. so deep into the Middle East that we will be bankrupted and our armies destroyed. Iranian leadership will prove willing to go to the next step by punctuating their defiant words with missiles aimed at the offending U.S. fleet, knowing that by doing so they would refresh their credentials across the Middle East and suck the U.S. in to the point of no return.
Could Saudi Arabia et al really remain neutral as the U.S. and, likely, Israel, begin carpet bombing and maybe even nuking Iran? Or, put another way, how long do you think they would be able to maintain a pro-U.S. stance before the enraged mobs hung them like so many Christmas ornaments from the nearest lampposts? (I had to work a Christmas theme in here, somewhere!)
Then, of course, there is all the talk about boosting the number of troops in Iraq, a “surge,” as they call it… which is pretty much the only proposal currently being seriously discussed by the government as a possible “solution” to the Iraqi mess.
After all, the administration acknowledged as much by promptly replacing good old “Rummy” with the purportedly more sage and moderate Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense (maybe the title should be changed to Secretary of “Offense”?). Not quite so fast, given the following quote made by the new secretary while in Baghdad this week…
"We need to make damned sure that the neighbors understand that we're going to be here for a long time — here being the Persian Gulf," said Gates.
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